U.K airport security stepped up amid terrorism fears

Britain has stepped up airport security following a request from U.S. officials concerned about terrorists developing new types of bombs that could be used to blow up planes.

“We have taken the decision to step up some of our aviation security measures,” Britain’s transport ministry said. “The majority of passengers should not experience significant disruption.”

The request came as U.S. security sources told Reuters that bombmakers from the Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, and Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were believed to be working to develop explosives that could avoid detection by current airport screening systems.

The main concern is that militant groups could try to blow up planes bound for the United States or Europe by concealing bombs on foreign fighters carrying Western passports who spent time with Islamist rebel factions in the region, the U.S. sources told Reuters.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, in a statement Tuesday, said he had directed the Transportation Security Administration “to implement enhanced security measures in the coming days at certain overseas airports with direct flights to the United States. We will work to ensure these necessary steps pose as few disruptions to travelers as possible.”